1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital broadcast signal receiving apparatus for receiving a digital broadcast signal including both watch-unable digital broadcast information indicating a television program and broadcast-watching enabling information, which enables a user to watch the television program, from a sender, converting the watch-unable digital broadcast information into watch-enabled digital broadcast information indicating the television program and outputting the watch-enabled digital broadcast information. Also, the present invention relates to a digital information recording and reproducing apparatus in which the watch-unable digital broadcast information of the digital broadcast signal transmitted from the sender is converted into the watch-enabled digital broadcast information and the watch-enabled digital broadcast information is reproduced.
2. Description of the Related Art
2.1. Previously Proposed Art
Data, information and keys generally included in a digital broadcast signal are described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a digital broadcast sending system from which a multiplexed digital broadcast signal including both pieces of digital broadcast information indicating television programs and broadcast-watching enabling information is transmitted to a plurality of receivers in the form of a transport stream according to a Moving Picture Experts Group 2 (MPEG 2).
As shown in FIG. 1, a digital broadcast sending system 100 of a sender comprises:
a plurality of signal processing units 101a, 101b, ------, arranged in parallel to each other, for respectively producing digital broadcast information including audio/video data of a television program;
an enciphering unit 121 for enciphering a work key Kw used to encipher attribute information of the television programs and enciphering contract information of each receiver (or viewer); and
a multiplexing unit 122 for performing the time-division multiplexing for the pieces of digital broadcast information produced in the signal processing units 101a, 101b, ------, the work key Kw and the contract information enciphered in the enciphering unit 121, an electronic program guide (EPG) prepared in a broadcast scheduler (not shown) and specific information added by the sender and outputting packets of multiplexed digital broadcast signal.
In each signal processing unit 101 of this digital broadcast sending system 100, video/audio data of a television program P1, P2, ------, or Pk are compressed in compression units 102 according to a compression format of the MPEG 2, the compressed video/audio data of the television program P1 are divided into a series of packetized elementary stream (PES) packets in a PES packet unit 103. Also, character data indicating characters to be displayed in a teletext broadcasting is divided into another series of PES packets in the PES packet unit 103, and the time-division multiplexing is performed for the PES packets.
Thereafter, because the sender desires that the television programs P1, P2, ------, and Pk are watched by a plurality of limited viewers who contract with the sender to watch television programs transmitted by the sender, information of the PES packets is scrambled in a scrambling unit 104 by using a scramble key Ks.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, each scrambled PES packet is divided into a plurality of transport stream (TS) packets in a TS packet unit 105. Each TS packet has a data length of 188 bytes and is composed of a TS packet header of 4 bytes and an adaptation field and/or a payload of 184 bytes, and each scrambled PES packet is inserted into regions of the payloads of the TS packets. Each television program inserted into the TS packets is identified by a packet identification PID written in the TS packet header of each TS packet.
Also, the scramble key Ks and attribute information of the television program P1, P2, ------, or Pk are enciphered according to a work key Kw in an enciphering unit 106 to produce an entitlement control message ECM, and the entitlement control message ECM is divided into a plurality of TS packets in the TS packet unit 105. The entitlement control message ECM indicates information common to all receivers, and an example of the message ECM is shown in FIG. 3.
In the enciphering unit 121, the work key Kw and contract information of each receiver are enciphered to produce an entitlement management message EMM, and the entitlement management message EMM is divided into a plurality of TS packets. The message EMM is identified by a prescribed packet identifier arranged in each TS packet header. The entitlement management message EMM indicates individual information corresponding to each receiver, and an example of the message EMM is shown in FIG. 4.
Thereafter, the time-division multiplexing is performed in the multiplexing unit 122 for the pieces of digital broadcast information arranged in the TS packets in the signal processing units 110a, 101b, ------, and 101k and the entitlement management message EMM arranged in the TS packets, and the time-division multiplexed TS packets are output from the system 100 to a digital information recording and reproducing apparatus of each receiver as TS packets of a multiplexed digital broadcast signal.
In addition to the entitlement management message EMM, the sender can send an electronic program guide (EPG) prepared in a broadcast scheduler (not shown) and specific information added by the sender with the TS packets of the multiplexed digital broadcast signal. In this case, the electronic program guide and the specific information added by the sender are inserted into a series of TS packets defined by the sender. For example, in cases where the sender desires to change an algorithm of an enciphering method to a new algorithm and to send television programs enciphered according to the new algorithm to a group of limited receivers, control software installed in a receiving apparatus of each limited receiver is rewritten to new control software according to the specific information added by the sender to decipher the enciphered television programs received by the limited receiver according to the new control software. In this case, because the entitlement management message EMM and the specific information added by the sender are correctly processed in receiving apparatuses of a plurality of limited receivers, a group of limited receivers can watch television programs sent by the sender. Therefore, the entitlement management message EMM and the specific information added by the sender are called xe2x80x9cbroadcast-watching enabling informationxe2x80x9d in this specification.
Because updated broadcast-watching enabling information included in the packets of the multiplexed digital broadcast signal is intermittently sent to a group of limited receivers who formally contract with a television program sender, the broadcast-watching enabling information can be used by the group of limited receivers. Therefore, in cases where a contract of a receiver with a sender is, for example, canceled because the receiver does not pay the sender for a charge, updated broadcast-watching enabling information included in the packets of the multiplexed digital broadcast signal is not sent to the receiver any more. In this case, because the updated broadcast-watching enabling information is required to correctly decipher television programs transmitted from the sender, the receiver cannot watch any television program.
Also, even though a receiver formally contract with a sender, in cases where particular updated broadcast-watching enabling information transmitted from the sender cannot be received by the receiver because of a stoppage of electric power supplied to a receiver""s apparatus, the receiver cannot watch any television program transmitted from the sender. In this case, the receiver informs the sender that the receiver cannot watch any television program transmitted from the sender, and the sender again transmit the particular updated broadcast-watching enabling information to the receiver.
Next, the receiving, recording and reproduction of the multiplexed digital broadcast signal transmitted from the digital broadcast sending system 100 through a broadcasting satellite is described.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a conventional digital information recording and reproducing apparatus in which a conventional digital satellite broadcasting receiving apparatus is arranged. This conventional digital information recording and reproducing apparatus is disclosed in the Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. H8-340514 (1996).
As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional digital information recording and reproducing apparatus 200 of a user is composed of:
an antenna 201 for receiving the multiplexed digital broadcast signal in which the pieces of digital broadcast information including the entitlement control messages ECM, the entitlement management message EMM, the electronic program guide and the specific information added by the sender are arranged;
a front end 202 for performing a frequency conversion, a demodulation and an error correction for the multiplexed digital broadcast signal received in the antenna 201 and outputting the processed signal as a received digital broadcast signal;
a switch 203 for selecting the received digital broadcast signal output from the front end 202 in a direct reproducing operation and a receiving operation and selecting a readout digital broadcast signal read out from a recording medium in a reproducing operation;
a demultiplexer 204 for extracting the entitlement management message EMM representing the broadcast-watching enabling information, the pieces of digital broadcast information of the television programs and the entitlement control messages ECM from the received digital broadcast signal selected by the switch 203 in the direct reproducing operation and the receiving operation, deciphering the entitlement management message EMM and the entitlement control messages ECM in the direct reproducing operation and the receiving operation, extracting each piece of digital broadcast information from the received digital broadcast signal, performing a descrambling processing for each digital broadcast information by using the entitlement management message EMM and the corresponding entitlement control message ECM in the direct reproducing operation and the receiving operation to obtain the descrambled digital broadcast information as extracted digital broadcast information for each television program, and extracting particular digital broadcast information corresponding to one or more particular television programs desired by the user from the readout digital broadcast signal selected by the switch 203 as particular extracted digital broadcast information in the reproducing operation;
a recording and reading unit 205 for recording, in the receiving operation, the pieces of extracted digital broadcast information obtained in the demultiplexer 204 in a recording medium such as a magnetic tape and reading out the pieces of extracted digital broadcast information as the readout digital broadcast signal to be input to the demultiplexer 204 through the switch 203 in the reproducing operation;
a video/audio decoder 206 for expanding the particular extracted digital broadcast information output from the demultiplexer 204 and performing a digital-analog conversion for the particular extracted digital broadcast information to obtain an analog video signal and an analog audio signal indicating each particular television program desired by the user; and
an NTSC/PAL encoder 207 for converting the analog video signal into an NTSC (National Television System Committee) signal adopted in Japan and United State of America as a standard television signal or a PAL (phase alternating by line) signal adopted in Great Britain and Germany and outputting the analog audio signal and the analog video signal converted into the NTSC signal or the PAL signal.
A conventional digital satellite broadcasting receiving apparatus is composed of the front end 202, the switch 203 and the demultiplexer 204.
In the above configuration, an operation of the apparatus 200 is described.
The packets of the pieces of digital broadcast information, the entitlement control messages ECM, the entitlement management message EMM, the electronic program guide and the sender added information transmitted from the digital broadcast sending system 100 are received in the antenna 201, and a frequency conversion, a demodulation and an error correction are performed for the received signals, messages, guide and information in the front end 202. Therefore, a received digital broadcast signal of a base band is obtained. In the received digital broadcast signal, pieces of digital broadcast information indicating a plurality of television programs are multiplexed in time-division.
When a user selects a direct reproducing operation, the front end 202 is connected with the demultiplexer 204 through a first terminal T1 of the switch 203, the received digital broadcast signal is transmitted to the demultiplexer 204 through the switch 203. In the demultiplexer 204, the entitlement management message EMM representing the broadcast-watching enabling information, the pieces of digital broadcast information of the television programs and the entitlement control messages ECM are extracted from the received digital broadcast signal, then the entitlement management message EMM and the entitlement control messages ECM are deciphered. Each piece of digital broadcast information is extracted from the received digital broadcast signal, and a descrambling processing is performed for each digital broadcast information by using the entitlement management message EMM and the corresponding entitlement control message ECM to obtain the descrambled digital broadcast information as extracted digital broadcast information for each television program.
Thereafter, pieces of extracted digital broadcast information indicating one or more television programs are expanded because the extracted digital broadcast information are compressed in the digital broadcast sending system 100, and a digital-analog conversion for the extracted digital broadcast information is performed to obtain an analog video signal and an analog audio signal indicating the television programs. The analog video signal and the analog audio signal are transmitted to the NTSC/PAL encoder 207.
In the NTSC/PAL encoder 207, the analog video signal is converted into an NTSC signal or a PAL signal, and the analog audio signal and the analog video signal converted into the NTSC signal or the PAL signal are output to a video/audio reproducing unit (not shown).
Therefore, the user can entertain one or more television programs displayed on an image screen by reproducing the analog video/audio signals in the direct reproducing operation.
Next, when a user selects a receiving operation, the front end 202 is connected with the demultiplexer 204 through the first terminal T1 of the switch 203 in the same manner as in the direct reproducing operation, the received digital broadcast signal is transmitted to the demultiplexer 204 through the switch 203, and extracted digital broadcast information is obtained in the demultiplexer 204 for each television program in the same manner as in the direct reproducing operation. The pieces of extracted digital broadcast information are recorded in the recording and reading unit 205.
Thereafter, when the user desires to reproduce one or more particular television programs recorded in the recording and reading unit 205, the recording and reading unit 205 is connected with the demultiplexer 204 through a second terminal T2 of the switch 203, and a reproducing operation is started. In the reproducing operation, the pieces of extracted digital broadcast information are read out from the recording and reading unit 205 as a readout digital broadcast signal, and particular digital broadcast information corresponding to the particular television programs is extracted in the demultiplexer 204 as particular extracted digital broadcast information from the readout digital broadcast signal. Thereafter, particular digital video/audio signals of the particular extracted digital broadcast information are output from the demultiplexer 204 to the video/audio decoder 206.
In the video/audio decoder 206, because the particular digital video/audio signals of the particular extracted digital broadcast information are compressed in the digital broadcast sending system 100, the particular digital video/audio signals are expanded, and a digital-analog conversion for the particular extracted digital broadcast information is performed to obtain an analog video signal and an analog audio signal indicating the particular television programs desired by the user. The analog video signal and the analog audio signal are transmitted to the NTSC/PAL encoder 207, and the analog audio signal and the analog video signal converted into an NTSC signal or a PAL signal are output from the NTSC/PAL encoder 207 to the video/audio reproducing unit (not shown) in the same manner as in the direct reproducing operation.
Therefore, the user can entertain one or more particular television programs displayed on an image screen by reproducing the analog video/audio signals.
2.2. Problems to Be Solved by the Invention
However, because the reproducing operation for the readout digital broadcast signal read out from the recording and reading unit 205 is performed in the demultiplexer 204 in which the receiving operation for the received digital broadcast signal transmitted from the front end 202 is performed, the reproducing operation and the receiving operation cannot be simultaneously performed. Therefore, in cases where the broadcast-watching enabling information represented by the entitlement management message EMM of the received digital broadcast signal is transmitted from the digital broadcast sending system 100 of a broadcasting station during the reproducing operation for the readout digital broadcast signal read out from the recording and reading unit 205, the broadcast-watching enabling information capable to be detected in the receiving operation is not detected in the demultiplexer 204 because the reproducing operation is performed in the demultiplexer 204. In this case, even though the user formally contracts with the sender, there is a problem that the user cannot reproduce any received digital broadcast signal transmitted from the broadcasting station after the user fails the detection of the broadcast-watching enabling information represented by the entitlement management message EMM.
An object of the present invention is to provide, with due consideration to the drawbacks of such a conventional digital broadcast signal receiving apparatus and a conventional digital information recording and reproducing apparatus, a digital broadcast signal receiving apparatus and a digital information recording and reproducing apparatus in which broadcast-watching enabling information is detected even though a reproducing operation for digital broadcast information read out from a recording medium is continued.
The object is achieved by the provision of a digital broadcast signal receiving apparatus, comprising:
selecting means for selecting an extracted digital broadcast signal transmitted from an outside in a first operation of a current step and selecting a digital broadcast signal, in which pieces of watch-unable digital broadcast information and broadcast-watching enabling information are included, transmitted from a signal sender in a second operation of the current step, the extracted digital broadcast signal being composed of pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information obtained in a preceding step;
broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means, always set to a condition for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender, for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender and extracting the broadcast-watching enabling information from the digital broadcast signal in the current step regardless of whether the digital broadcast signal is selected by the selecting means in the second operation or the extracted digital broadcast signal is selected by the selecting means in the first operation; and digital broadcast information converting means for receiving the extracted digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means in the first operation, extracting a piece of particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information from the extracted digital broadcast signal in the first operation, outputting the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information in the first operation, receiving the digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means in the second operation, extracting the pieces of watch-unable digital broadcast information from the digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means in the second operation, converting each piece of watch-unable digital broadcast information into watch-enabled digital broadcast information of the current step according to the broadcast-watching enabling information extracted by the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means, and outputting the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information of the current step to the outside.
In the above configuration, because the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means is always set to a condition for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender, a digital broadcast signal transmitted from the signal sender is received by the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means regardless of whether a user adopts a first operation or a second operation, and broadcast-watching enabling information is extracted from the digital broadcast signal. The broadcast-watching enabling information is sent to the digital broadcast information converting means.
When a first operation is adopted by a user because the user desires the outputting of a piece of particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information already obtained in a preceding step, the extracted digital broadcast signal obtained in the preceding step is transmitted from the outside and is selected by the selecting means, and the extracted digital broadcast signal is transmitted to the digital broadcast information converting means. In the digital broadcast information converting means, the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information is extracted from the extracted digital broadcast signal and is output.
Thereafter, when a second operation is adopted by a user, the digital broadcast signal transmitted from the signal sender is selected by the selecting means, and the digital broadcast signal is transmitted to the digital broadcast information converting means. In the digital broadcast information converting means, pieces of watch-unable digital broadcast information are extracted from the digital broadcast signal, and each piece of watch-unable digital broadcast information is converted into watch-enabled digital broadcast information of a current step according to the broadcast-watching enabling information. The pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information is output to the outside as an extracted digital broadcast signal of the current step.
Accordingly, because the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means is always set to a condition for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender regardless of whether the user adopts a first operation or a second operation, the broadcast-watching enabling information can be reliably extracted from the digital broadcast signal in any operation of the current step by the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means. Therefore, even though the digital broadcast signal is transmitted to the digital broadcast signal receiving apparatus during the first operation in which the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information is extracted from the extracted digital broadcast signal by the digital broadcast information converting means, the broadcast-watching enabling information can be extracted from the extracted digital broadcast signal by the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means, and each piece of watch-unable digital broadcast information of the digital broadcast signal can be converted into watch-enabled digital broadcast information in the second operation by the digital broadcast information converting means according to the broadcast-watching enabling information.
The object is also achieved by the provision of a digital information recording and reproducing apparatus, comprising:
digital broadcast information recording and reading means for recording pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information obtained in a preceding step and reading out the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information as an extracted digital broadcast signal;
selecting means for selecting the extracted digital broadcast signal read out from the digital broadcast information recording and reading means in a reproducing operation of a current step and selecting a digital broadcast signal, in which pieces of watch-unable digital broadcast information and broadcast-watching enabling information are included, transmitted from a signal sender in a receiving operation of the current step;
broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means, always set to a condition for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender, for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender and extracting the broadcast-watching enabling information from the digital broadcast signal in the current step regardless of whether the digital broadcast signal is selected by the selecting means in the receiving operation or the extracted digital broadcast signal is selected by the selecting means in the reproducing operation;
digital broadcast information converting means for receiving the extracted digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means in the reproducing operation, extracting a piece of particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information from the extracted digital broadcast signal in the reproducing operation, outputting the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information in the reproducing operation, receiving the digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means in the receiving operation, extracting the pieces of watch-unable digital broadcast information from the digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means in the receiving operation, converting each piece of watch-unable digital broadcast information into watch-enabled digital broadcast information of the current step according to the broadcast-watching enabling information extracted by the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means, and outputting the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information of the current step to the digital broadcast information recording and reading means to replace the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information already recorded in the digital broadcast information recording and reading means with the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information of the current step; and
digital broadcast information decoding means for decoding the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information output from the digital broadcast information converting means to obtain an analog broadcast signal and outputting the analog broadcast signal to reproduce the analog broadcast signal.
In the above configuration, when a digital broadcast signal is transmitted from the signal sender, the digital broadcast signal is always received by the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means regardless of whether a user adopts a reproducing operation or a receiving operation, broadcast-watching enabling information is extracted from the digital broadcast signal, and the broadcast-watching enabling information is sent to the digital broadcast information converting means.
When a reproducing operation is adopted by the user, pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information obtained in a preceding step are read out as an extracted digital broadcast signal from the digital broadcast information recording and reading means to the digital broadcast information converting means through the selecting means. In the digital broadcast information converting means, a piece of particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information desired by the user is extracted from the extracted digital broadcast signal of the preceding step. Thereafter, the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information is decoded to an analog broadcast signal by the digital broadcast information decoding means, and the analog broadcast signal is output to reproduce the analog broadcast signal.
Thereafter, when a receiving operation is adopted by the user, pieces of watch-unable digital broadcast information are extracted from the digital broadcast signal selected by the selecting means, and each piece of watch-unable digital broadcast information is converted into watch-enabled digital broadcast information of a current step according to the broadcast-watching enabling information. The pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information is recorded in the digital broadcast information recording and reading means to replace the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information already recorded in the digital broadcast information recording and reading means with the pieces of watch-enabled digital broadcast information of the current step.
Accordingly, because the broadcast-watching enabling information extracting means is always set to a condition for receiving the digital broadcast signal from the signal sender regardless of whether the user adopts the receiving operation or the reproducing operation, even though the digital broadcast signal is transmitted to the digital information recording and reproducing apparatus during the reproducing operation in which the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information is extracted from the extracted digital broadcast signal by the digital broadcast information converting means, the broadcast-watching enabling information can be reliably extracted from the digital broadcast signal without any failure of the reception of the digital broadcast signal. Therefore, the conversion of watch-unable digital broadcast information into watch-enabled digital broadcast information can be reliably performed according to the broadcast-watching enabling information in the receiving operation, the extraction of particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information from the watch-enabled digital broadcast information can be performed in the reproducing operation, and an analog broadcast signal obtained from the particular watch-enabled digital broadcast information can be output to reproduce the analog broadcast signal.